By Congressman MARKWAYNE MULLINWithin the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency, we’ve seen him draw the line in the sand. After President Bashar al-Assad delivered one of worst chemical bombing in Syria in history, President Trump made it clear that the United States would not tolerate a war crime like this. When Assad crossed the line by unleashing a chemical attack that took the lives of dozens of his own people, the country’s new commander in chief made good on a promise.

For the first time in eight years, our country’s president laid out the boundaries in the form of a red line and when the line was crossed, he didn’t just hand down sanctions to the country doing harm, he responded with force. President Trump’s actions show his confidence in our military and their ability to defending our country and its citizens.

The president’s budget proposal to Congress cuts spending in several programs. I, for one, am encouraged by his cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, foreign aid, and other discretionary spending sources. Prioritizing our spending in some areas will allow for us to start to trim our debt and most importantly, ramp up our military readiness.

Sequestration and funding our government through continuing resolutions (CRs) has decimated our military readiness. While the technology and need for troops and equipment has increased, we’ve handicapped our men and women in uniform by not providing them with the resources they need to do their jobs well.

The President’s budget calls for a $54 billion increase in defense spending to help bolster our military’s readiness. First and foremost, the government’s responsibility is to protect the citizens inside its borders. This budget repeals the previous sequestration and provides resources to defeat those wishing to do our country harm. By increasing readiness, ensuring that we have critical ammunition, filling in personnel gaps, and performing routine maintenance on our military branches and their equipment, we can better prepare for the unknown.

Our men and women in uniform should never go into battle unprepared. The president’s budget makes good on a promise he made to the American people: America First. I’m proud that our president follows through on the line he’s drawn in our sand and believe our country is in good hands with our military’s new commander in chief.

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